I upped my carb intake, creatine is working so my upper body got pumped up.
Been cutting for 7.5 weeks, seeing good strength gains. Not sure if i should move to recomp or keep cutting. Pigging out would be nice
Groin is still injured though. Shouldn't have tried to push it with the squats

GN forgot to mention...good work brah. You've made great progress. Also, congrats on having good ab genetics.

Need you guys to help me brainstorm here: I've got my bands for travel and they anchor in a door way - so I can use them on the sides, top, and bottom. Or I can put them on the floor and use them from there, for shoulders and curls and such. Trouble is, they require a certain amount of slack because of the band length and I can't seem to find a good way/angle to work my calves and lower back. I can step on a portion of the band length to lessen the slack required but I still can't seem to get anything that seems worthwhile. Suggestions are welcome. TIA. For reference, here's the bands again:

Hmmm. The bands are single sided and attach into the apparatus, but I might be able to loop the handle around my head/neck. Or I could anchor it under the door and just pull back, with my hands out in front, until I get resistance. Trouble is, my apex point will be out in front of me as I won't be able to keep the handle close to my body and maintain resistance at the same time.

Typically, stretching is not enough. I stretch and do myofascial release and even got ART done. ART helped most, but now I'm back to square one. I'm going to guess that the issue for you is scapular stability.

Yes...stretching will only go so far. Trigger Points in the Paraspinal muscles of the upper back are often the cause of many neck related problems.

The key is not only to stretch and release TP's but to also get mobility back into the Thoracic (upper back) joints. A good Myotherpist can help with that.

Also, there used to be a great little device called a "Spineflex" that worked miracles for me. Loaned it out but it never came back....shows how good the thing was.

Cant find the maker anywhere, (think they were Australian) but if you can find one somewhere snap it up. Have resorted to placing 2 tennis balls in a sock and lying on them. Works ok TP relief but more importantly mobilization of the joints. Just have to do light ab crunches and side twists whilst on the balls. Hope that helps.

Yes...stretching will only go so far. Trigger Points in the Paraspinal muscles of the upper back are often the cause of many neck related problems.

The key is not only to stretch and release TP's but to also get mobility back into the Thoracic (upper back) joints. A good Myotherpist can help with that.

Also, there used to be a great little device called a "Spineflex" that worked miracles for me. Loaned it out but it never came back....shows how good the thing was.
Cant find the maker anywhere, (think they were Australian) but if you can find one somewhere snap it up. Have resorted to placing 2 tennis balls in a sock and lying on them. Works ok TP relief but more importantly mobilization of the joints. Just have to do light ab crunches and side twists whilst on the balls. Hope that helps.

Yea good rec. My tripper point book explains that the best approach is to eliminate the trigger points through some deep tissue work then stretch then mobilize the area.

I need to work on my upper back mobility for sure. It doesn't help that doing a hard workout always makes the area so stiff. And since I train 4 days a week now myI only have a day or two where my upper body isn't completely tight from the previous days workout.

Also this is just a tip but if you deal hunt you can find an Aeron chair for cheap. I got mine for $200.

Yea good rec. My tripper point book explains that the best approach is to eliminate the trigger points through some deep tissue work then stretch then mobilize the area.
I need to work on my upper back mobility for sure. It doesn't help that doing a hard workout always makes the area so stiff. And since I train 4 days a week now myI only have a day or two where my upper body isn't completely tight from the previous days workout.
Also this is just a tip but if you deal hunt you can find an Aeron chair for cheap. I got mine for $200.

Aeron chair owns. I have one in my office and its pretty incredible how much of a difference an ergonomically designed chair can make. dat lumbar support, I have mine cranked all the way forward, feelsgoodman.

Shoulders back at 100% no idea how I hurt it squatting. Think I'm gonna start going to the gym later in the evening so I don't have to deal with the crowd right after work. Up about 10 lbs since I started this bulk but I think a bunch of that is fat and water. Hoping cleaner eating will decrease that going forward. 3 more months to go til I start a hard cut, hoping to have weighted up significantly by then.